Scientists finally confirm what’s inside the moon | Science and health

Although many years seekthe scientific community No consensus has been reached on what the interior of moon: solid or molten. Now, a new careful investigation could put an end to suspicion forever. The study was led by an astronomer Arthur BriodHe found that the inner core of the moon is solid, with a density similar to that of iron.

“Our results raise questions about the evolution of the moon’s magnetic field thanks to its demonstration of the presence of the inner core and the support of a global rotation of the mantle. Such a scenario brings substantial information about the timeline of lunar bombardment in the solar system’s first billion years,” wrote Briod’s team, from the French National Center for Scientific Research in France, in search Published in Nature.

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Examining the internal composition of bodies in the solar system is most effectively done using seismic data. The way sound waves generated by earthquakes move and bounce off material inside a planet or on the surface of the moon can help scientists create a detailed map of the body’s interior.

However, although there is lunar seismic data collected on the Apollo mission, the resolution of the material is too low to accurately determine the state of the moon’s inner core. The liquid outer core is known to exist, but what includes it remains a matter of debate.

To unravel the mystery, Priaud and his colleagues combined data from more recent spaceflights as well as lunar laser experiments to compile a profile of various lunar features. The data includes the degree of deformation caused by the interaction of gravity with the Earth, the difference in distance from the Earth, and the density of the Moon.

They then ran the results with different types of cores to find the best match with the observed data. Models very similar to what we know of the moon describe the energetic rippling in the depths of the lunar mantle. This means that the denser material inside the moon falls towards the center and the less dense material rises. This activity has been proposed as a way to explain the presence of certain elements in volcanic regions on the Moon.

The research also found that the moon’s core is very similar to Earth’s – with a liquid outer layer and a solid inner core. According to the data, the radius of the outer core is about 362 kilometers and the radius of the inner core is about 258 kilometers. This is about 15% of the radius of the entire moon.

The team also found that the moon’s inner core has a density of about 7,822 kilograms per cubic meter – very close to the density of iron.

For Briaud, the results are confirmation of previous discoveries and make a very strong argument for a lunar core that is similar to Earth.

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